Micro-fiction might be one type of story that is unfamiliar to a lot of people. It is defined by its length, its expectation, and its boundaries. JLB Creatives Publishing defines the length at 1-100 words.Within a small amount of space, the writer must convey something valuable - an entire story. It can be difficult to condense an idea into a "micro" of its original, though it is possible. Take the following conversation, for example.
"Hey!"
"Yeah?"
"Coming?"
"Where?"
"Swimming."
"Nope."
"Why?"
"Grounded."
In this case, one-word sentences make up an entire conversation and manage to convey a complete idea (though the above is not a complete micro-fiction story). It can be difficult to make a point with so few words, and since you are using so few, you must choose them carefully. Micro-fiction requires a writer's willingness to edit and re-edit multiple times. But this is only a part of micro-fiction.
You must make sure your readers will want to read on. You have to be certain the story answers most of their questions but still leaves them with a few. Try to close your micro-fiction by sending the reader back into the story; unanswered questions are necessary in order to accomplish your mission. One of the best (and shortest) examples of micro-fiction is attributed to Ernest Hemingway:
"For sale: Baby shoes. Never worn."
Mission accomplished!
Visit Journey to Publication: www.JourneyToPublication.com
